Yoon Gun-young: "People are struggling day by day, but President Yoon seemed relaxed during his first month in office"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized President Yoon Seok-yeol's first month in office on the 15th, saying it "looked too idle."

Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly on the 28th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

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On the same day, Yoon appeared on MBC's program 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "Looking back on President Yoon's schedule over the past month, it looked too idle," adding, "The people are struggling day by day due to inflation and rising prices, and the national economy is shaky, but there was no sense of urgency in the president's schedule over the past month."

Regarding the emergency economic measures announced the day before, he also pointed out, "It came out for the first time in a month," and said, "It was late."

He also criticized President Yoon's efforts to get closer to the people, such as visiting a bakery on the weekend. He explained, "There is a reason why previous presidents wanted to have schedules among the people but did not do so," adding, "When one president moves, at least dozens to hundreds of people move, so naturally, it causes inconvenience to the public, so they refrained." He continued, "Every presidential schedule is a message, and whether to buy from a local bakery or a famous pastry shop makes a huge difference." This means that every schedule visible to the public must be handled with caution.

He also said that an apology is necessary regarding the recent controversy over First Lady Kim Geon-hee's schedule. Yoon said, "Bringing private acquaintances along on (Kim's visit to) Bongha Village was a very big mistake and an apology is appropriate," adding, "When the president goes to the U.S., he doesn't put an English-speaking acquaintance on Air Force One, right?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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He also expressed the opinion that the Second Office supporting First Lady Kim is effectively operating. He said, "Usually, the Second Office has 2 to 3 administrative officers," and added, "If three people have come in to assist Kim Geon-hee, it is practically operating the Second Office." Regarding Kim's schedule, Yoon said, "If it is not managed systematically, it will later become the seed of a big accident," and added, "The failure to keep the campaign promise of not establishing the Second Office during the presidential election process should be apologized for, and it is right to create the Second Office and provide proper support."

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